Group seeks to halt ‘disastrous’ LA County plan for women’s jail

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Inmates hold hands in prayer in the presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe's portrait at morning mass for incarcerated women at the Los Angeles County Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on Sunday, November 17, 2013. (File Photo by Sean Hiller/Press Telegram).

Inmates get emotional in the presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe's portrait at morning Mass for incarcerated women at the Los Angeles County Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on Sunday, November 17, 2013. (File photo by Sean Hiller/Press Telegram).

Members from groups opposed to jail expansion plan to speak out at the Los Angeles County Board meeting Tuesday to discourage supervisors from moving forward with construction of a women’s detention center in Lancaster.

The report will be presented to the Board of Supervisors by members of the LA No More Jails coalition, who also plan to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. outside the Hall of Administration at 500 West Temple St. Members of the groups hope their message will discourage supervisors from approving the jail’s completed environmental impact report. A request also has been made by the LA County Department of Public Works to postpone the vote.

“This report details the long history of the prison and jail systems’ total disregard for the environment and for the health of incarcerated people,” said Kim McGill with the Youth Justice Coalition in a statement. “This report draws attention to the severe health hazards that come along with imprisoning people in environments where they are forced to drink contaminated water and breathe infected air, adding to the endless list of reasons to not move forward with this disastrous jail project.”

Valley fever is caused by fungal spores in the soil. The fungus enters the body through the lungs, and can cause cold and flu-like symptoms. Although rare, it can be serious, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

There were 108 cases in Los Angeles County in 2014, an increase from the year before. Most people infected were from the Antelope Valley and parts of the San Fernando Valley, according recent figures by the Department of Public Health.

The proposed jail at the corner of West Avenue I and 60th Street would occupy a 46-acre portion of an already existing Mira Loma Detention Center, which is now vacant. Some buildings would be demolished to create a new facility to include 1,604 beds for low- to medium-security female inmates.

The old facility was once used for women inmates before it was shuttered, then reopened in 1997 by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE to house undocumented immigrants until 2012.

Earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve its construction as part of a nearly $2 billion plan to update the county’s jails. County officials say the Mira Loma facility would eventually replace the overcrowded women’s detention facility in Lynwood.